Reddit Users Open Up About What Happened To The Bullied Kids From Their High School

20d ago | 63 sharesEmma Guinness

It's a never good idea to pigeonhole people, but when it comes to kids in high school, it's pretty much inevitable. When kids are growing up, it's easy to split them up into groups which typically include the popular kids, jocks, punks, and, of course, weirdos.

I fell into the latter group as an adolescent, and now that I'm well into my 25th year as a human, I don't think I'm doing too badly when it comes to life. I've achieved a lot of my goals, and I'm able to make rent each month, which isn't too bad for a millennial.

Studies have proven that weird kids are more likely to be successful later in life, whereas popular kids tend to struggle. Now, Redditors have opened up about what happened to the weird kid from their high school and what they said is surprising, to say the least!

1. This guy bloomed as an adult

"The guy from my school was super introvert and acted a little bit strange. I secretly thought that maybe he had some sort of mental problem, like autism or something similar (I never knew for sure). Nevertheless, he was a really nice guy! Sometimes I went to his house on summers to hang out with him, and he always invited me to his birthday parties.

[Seven] years after graduating, he is almost a doctor (he was extremely smart), and has a beautiful girlfriend who is just as shy as him, but equally as nice. I'm really happy for them." - ohcnop

2. A bad start in life doesn't have to define a person

Credit: DreamWorks Pictures / Almost Famous

"I was one of the only two-three people who was friends with an awkward and unhappy kid in my school. He had terrible family issues (one example: his mother tried to have him committed at age 15 because he didn't want to come live with her after she left their family) and he was the only non-Catholic at a Catholic high school (which he officially wore as a badge of honor, but of course it made him stand out as different).

In college he met a nice girl, got to know the geek contingent (which became a strong circle of friends) and became president of his very geeky fraternity. He married that girl the day after graduation and moved far away from his family. He now owns a successful book store and has two fabulous children and they're all very happy 30 years after he was the least popular kid in school." - Clapperoth

3. Sometimes weird kids know why they were ostracized

Credit: Summit Entertainment / The Perks of Being a Wallflower

"I was one of them.

Did the military thing, went to college, overall doing much better than I or anyone else expected.

Truth be told, there was a reason why I was unpopular. Argumentative, selfish, condescending, bad at understanding social norms, rude, ETC. Took a long time for me to correct these faults, and it is still a work in progress.

Still have the outcast mentality. Hard when I don't care about sports, religion, tv shows, holidays, or most other cultural gatherings. I get a lot of reading done though and I have a friend. All in all everything is good." - PMmeyourbirdfeeder

According to professors at the University of Virginia, many cool kids become failures as adults because "while [their] behavior might have been linked to early popularity, over time, these teens needed more and more extreme behaviors to try to appear cool."

4. Not all weirdos have success stories

Credit: Walt Disney Pictures / The Princess Diaries

"One got heavily into drugs...

One "blossomed" and became stunningly attractive...

One became very wealthy intech...

For the "popular" kids:

One got heavily into drugs..

The hottest girl in school became actively unattractive...

The Richy Rich kid is now bagging groceries..." - wastingtoomuchthyme

5. Some weirdos were kept at a distance for good reason

Credit: M.G. Films / Mean Girls

"Everyone was afraid of this guy, except me. I actually worked up the courage to talk to him, and it turned out he was surprisingly normal. He was a very big kid and looked older and also just looked very mean. I got to know him a bit and he was actually pretty friendly, if I was around him more I would've been friends with him too.

I'm not sure if something happened before I knew him or what, normally there would be stories about someone if that were the case. I never heard anything bad about him, but people were really scared of him. I felt really sorry for him because he was this big friendly giant, and everyone else was too intimidated to give him a chance.

Turns out they were right. A few years after high school, he murdered his mother. I kind of wonder if she was very manipulative or was horrible to him or something. He was very aware of how big and strong he was, so he always went out of his way to gentle and nice. Still though, the whole thing was very disturbing to read about." - ferociousrickjames

6. People can be socially awkward for good reasons

Credit: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures / Carrie

"I was the 'least popular kid' in my high school ( or at least in my grade ). Even the teachers didn't like me and the school administrators framed me for breaking into their computer system.

I work as a programmer analyst for a small IT company. I am very well respected in my position. I still have a hard time making friends, but I now know why.

I have done therapy with a psychologist and apparently being physically abused by my Dad and seeing my parents emotional abusing each other fucked me up good.

As a result, I wasn't able to relate in a healthy way to people around me and I became the 'least popular kid'.

I just started anti-depressants and anxiety medication and I am crossing my fingers that it will fix me." - linux1970

One of the reasons why popular kids struggle as adults is that they do too much too young. When they are just teenagers, they are often engaging in very adult relationships, which leaves little for them to explore once they are actually adults, and has a knock-on effect on their behavior.

7. Not everyone can be their true self in high school

"I came out as trans, lost 300 pounds, and am living an awesome life!

(I was the weird fat kid)." - SyxxFtH8

Credit: M.G. Films / Mean Girls

8. Heinsight is a great thing

Credit: DreamWorks Pictures / Almost Famous

"I'm doing alright, thanks for asking!

All kidding aside, I was absolutely not popular with a capital N and P. Crass, 'edgy', loudmouth weirdo with a superiority complex. Not likable in anyway.

I mellowed out in university, stopped being an edgy douche. Got married, bought a house, got some dogs. I run a small business and my wife is a Ph.D so we make good money. We travel and enjoy spending our wealth to make our friends and family happy.

I honestly wish I had the opportunity to do it all again. There's lots of things I would do differently obviously. But it's a fool's errand to look back and wish for things you cannot change." - Pollable_Polls

9. Even as adults, some weirdos can still struggle

Credit: Summit Entertainment / The Perks of Being a Wallflower

"I work at a burger joint, barely making it paycheck-to-paycheck and thinking of new reasons every day to not kill myself.

It's a tough life, but someone's gotta live it." - cl0udcastle

Unlike popular kids, weirdos often stick together, which sees them develop close friendships which can last into adulthood. Having a strong support network helps people to navigate the world, and those who are popular with fake friends tend to struggle without one.

10. Your high school years don't define you

Credit: M.G. Films / Mean Girls

"I was weird, withdrawn, and kind of an asshole in high school. I also had untreated ADHD, which manifested with anxiety, impatience, and a short temper. I wanted so badly to be liked but didn't see that the problem was mostly me.

I'm 30 now, and still weird, but I've been actively working on the asshole thing for the past decade or so and I have seen a marked improvement. Somehow I managed to start a career I like and get myself into a healthy relationship. I even have friends now! Thank goodness high school wasn't the best days of my life." - nulliparityforever

11. Karma always wins out in the end

Credit: Walt Disney Pictures / The Princess Diaries

"She was very odd - super thick glasses, curly mullet, and tourette's syndrome. She was sweet, but really weird. Kids made fun of her a lot. She got really good grades but was even nerdier than the stereotypical nerd.

Last I heard, she became a teacher, married a really cute guy, and bought a house somewhere far away. I don't know what happened to all of the kids that picked on her, but one of them works at a gas station in the same town she grew up in. So karma can be a thing sometimes.

Another kid I was friends with in elementary school was a complete nerd, but incredibly smart. I was only in third grade when we were friends, so I didn't quite get how smart he was until he built robotic penguins from scratch for a science project. Really blew my crappy cardboard kaleidoscope out of the water. He left school shortly after that. I found him on LinkedIn, apparently he runs his own software company based on his doctoral thesis and it looks like he got a job with IBM right out of high school." - wooby_pwow

12. Be careful who you call a weirdo

Credit: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures / Carrie

"There was a guy who would sit in the back of class and crush up lifesaver mints and snort them. He said it burned.

He's now a State Representative." - giraff_guy

While it's clear that a lot of high school weirdos made massive successes of their lives as adults, it's also safe to say that not every ugly duckling becomes a swan. However, this Reddit thread is certainly a good indication that the high school weirdo is more likely to be successful!